The present invention relates to providing an electronic service to viewers of transmitted video or computerized signals, and more particularly to a system and method for providing service of sending real time electronic information to selected individual viewers of transmitted video or computerized signals.
An important aspect of the `information superhighway` features viewers receiving transmitted signals from senders via a provider of video or computerized signals. Hereinafter, the term electronic information refers to any type and form of information which can be transmitted and received as video or computerized signals (e.g., via standard or cable TV, or, via computer), from a provider (e.g., standard or cable TV station, or internet service provider (ISP) of video or computerized software signals, to viewers capable of receiving and displaying such transmitted video or computerized software signals (e.g., via television sets, or computers with a display screen). Lately, computerized software signals are capable of including video data, such that a computer with a display screen is also capable of receiving and displaying video data.
The objective of viewers receiving transmitted video or computerized signals is to have access to electronic information contained in the transmitted signals. Ordinarily, viewers are given access to electronic information (e.g., in the form of TV programs, internet web sites, personal messages) made available and transmitted by a sender utilizing services of a provider. Details of content and format of electronic information provided to viewers are chosen either by a provider or by a sender (i.e., an entity, e.g., an individual or an entire company, which uses provider services for transmitting electronic information to viewers, usually for a monetary charge), based on criteria relevant to the provider or the sender, for purposes of maintaining a business, institution, governmental function, organization, or personal relationship, which includes among its activities or characteristics, a function for sending electronic information to viewers.
A significant limitation in current systems and methods of the relationship between providers or senders, and viewers of video or computerized signals, is that, except for electronic mail (e-mail), they are ordinarily based on essentially a `one-way street`, especially with respect to real viewing time, whereby, electronic information is initiated and sent by a sender to all potential viewers of a sender's TV station of internet provider, without the ability to transmit electronic information in a discriminatory manner to specifically targeted or selected individual viewers of that provider (sender). Moreover, using current systems and methods of indiscriminately sending electronic information limits a provider (sender) from having the ability to receive feedback response, during real time, from selected individual viewers of transmitted video or computerized signals.
There is thus a need for, and it would be useful to have a system and a method that enable a provider or sender to transmit electronic information, during real viewing time or not, to selected individual viewers of transmitted or computerized signals.
Typically, criteria used by providers or senders for deciding on content and format of information transmitted to viewers are based on information coming from three sources: (1) viewers, (2) advertisers (e.g., advertising companies), and (3) marketers (e.g., marketing companies). Viewers are ultimate end-users of transmitted video and computerized electronic information, whereas advertisers and marketers supply information to providers or senders, based on market segments made up of selected individual viewers exposed to advertisements, for the main objective of advertising or marketing to viewers. Thus, criteria used by providers or senders for deciding on content and format of information transmitted to viewers ultimately originates from the viewers themselves. These criteria are defined with respect to qualified or characteristic information about viewers, for the purpose of fulfilling or satisfying viewer interests, pleasures, requests, or specific needs. Hereinafter, viewer interests, pleasures, requests, or specific needs are collectively considered here as part of a set of viewer attribute information. Viewer attribute information may also include demographic and personal information and details about viewers, such as names of viewers, locations of viewers, activities, lifestyles, likes, dislikes, habits, hobbies, etc. According to identified viewer attribute information, providers or senders match resources available to them for transmission of video or computerized electronic information to their selected viewer audience. Viewer attribute information may be obtained either directly by sender providers, or by senders themselves such as advertisers and marketers, who in turn typically supply the information to providers.
Providers or senders of electronic information identify viewer attribute information by using various different methods and techniques, usually involving some form of market research. Market research techniques used by providers or senders for obtaining viewer attribute information, include the usage of provider or sender designed surveys, questionnaires, and interviews, of viewers, by contacting viewers through in-person, telephone, surface mail, or electronic means, such as electronic mail (e-mail), or by inserting the attribute information to a memory device located within the display device or to a set-top box located outside the display device. Providers or senders also obtain viewer attribute information by other electronic means, such as electronic monitoring or tracking of selected provider transmissions seen by viewers.
In the transmission of video signals to TV viewers, electronic monitoring or tracking of provider or sender transmissions sent to viewers involves connection of electronic black boxes to TVs, which identify viewing habits including, for example, categories or specific TV programs viewed, frequency of viewing, and times of viewing. TV program ratings are based on this kind of electronic monitoring of viewers. Results of TV program ratings are used by TV stations (and TV advertisers) for deciding upon content and format of information to be provided to TV viewers. In the transmission of computerized electronic information to viewer computer displays, a similar form of electronic monitoring, for example, involves internet Web site visit counters, which count the number of viewer visits to a particular Web site transmitted through the internet. Results of Web site visit counters are used by internet service providers and users, such as internet advertisers, for deciding upon content and format of information to be transmitted to internet viewers.
With respect to effectively servicing or targeting viewers, using market research techniques and results obtained therefrom, although quite developed and sophisticated, have several significant limitations which have not yet been overcome. Market research techniques, used by providers for obtaining viewer attribute information, are typically applied to entire viewer populations, of relatively large sizes, at the same time, during a specific time period, and not to selected individual viewers on a case by case basis, during real viewing time. Population size may be hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or higher, of viewers of video or computerized electronic information. Statistical analyses are performed on the raw data of surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and electronic monitoring, of entire populations of viewers, and not of individuals. Results of these statistical analyses, providers of video or computerized electronic information to design transmission criteria in a statistical, not individualized, fashion, thereby, transmitting to statistically based viewer populations sharing viewer attribute information in a statistical, not individualized, fashion. Moreover, these results are dated, during a specified viewing time period, which may be of several weeks or months, for example. After periods of several months, and especially of several years, accuracy of such results decreases as viewer attribute information changes, for both individual viewers and large populations of viewers. Thus, results of such market research techniques are of limited value to providers or senders of electronic information, such as advertisers and marketers, desiring to efficiently transmit individualized electronic information to large numbers of selected individual viewers on an individualized basis, during real viewing time.
Current techniques and results of electronic monitoring of internet viewers, for the purpose of effectively servicing or targeting selected individual viewers by internet service providers of users, are less developed and more limited than those of electronic monitoring of TV viewers. Principle among these are Web site counters, which simply count, electronically, the number of times any internet viewer visits, or `hits`, a particular Web site. Web site counters are anonymous, unattached from internet viewer demographics, and being unrelated to viewer personal names, e-mail names or addresses, and other useful individualized viewer attribute information. Individualized viewers attribute information, such as internet usage habits, including, for example, categories of internet Web sites viewed, frequency of viewing, and times of viewing, relating to an individual internet viewer, are not ordinarily electronically recorded. An additional significant limitation compared to electronic monitoring of TV viewers is that, ordinarily, for a particular Web site having its own site counter, counter data obtained is applicable only to that particular Web site, and not to the usual plethora of Web sites accessible to internet viewers by internet service providers or users. Provider or user initiated methods of connecting electronic black boxes to individual internet viewer displays, in order to monitor an individual's internet viewer usage habits relating to a multitude of Web sites visited by that individual viewer, during real viewer time or over extended periods of time, have not yet been developed to the extent of electronic monitoring TV viewers. Moreover, obtaining internet viewer ratings information analogous to TV viewer ratings information is not yet possible, also due to the huge number of internet Web sites compared to a smaller number of TV channels, and also due to the nature of internet viewers `surfing` the internet, where for example, internet viewers often surf from the internet Web site to another in a time period of seconds, without investing sufficient time required for recording accurate ratings information. Such electronic monitoring techniques, and results obtained therefrom, represent very inefficient and low accuracy means for internet service providers to propose criteria for deciding on content and format of electronic information transmitted to viewers.
There is thus a need for, and it would be useful to have a system and a method that are capable of being used by providers or senders of electronic information to effectively monitor, record, and service viewer attribute information of selected individual viewers of video or computerized signals, during real time, whereby such a system and method are based on obtaining results with high accuracy, and which are cost effective to implement.